Everything Changes
by WhatIt'sLikeToStandOutside
Summary: A slightly tipsy Brennan decides that now would be a good time to tell Booth how much she's really not fond of how close he is to Hannah. When she decides to tell him that she loves him, nothing will ever be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: She Didn't Mean to Say That...Did She?**

* * *

It was a relatively normal evening. Booth and Brennan were hanging out drinking after a case, and Booth was telling Brennan about his date with Hannah last night, and Brennan, as much as she liked Hannah, was getting very frustrated. Hiding her thoughts wasn't something she often did, but her crush on Booth made her feel different about that. She knew she needed to hide her feelings; otherwise Booth or Hannah could get hurt. It was getting harder and harder to keep this inside, and her strong drink wasn't helping.

"Booth, would you stop talking about Hannah for one minute?" Brennan practically screamed. Her mind was pretty clear, she wasn't drunk yet, so she had no idea how those words came out of her mouth.

"What?" Booth asked. He looked taken aback, which Brennan took as a bad sign.

"Please, can we just have a conversation for five minutes without mentioning Hannah?" Brennan put down her drink, realizing how awkward the situation was quickly becoming, and how the drink wasn't doing much in the way of filtering what was coming out of her mouth.

"I thought you like Hannah," Booth started.

"I do like Hannah, we've gotten to be good friends, but she's all you ever think about! There are other things going on in the world!"

"Like what?" Booth asked. Brennan didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Well for one, you have the murders." Brennan knew she shouldn't have mentioned that the instant she said it.

"Are you suggesting that Hannah's interfering with what we do? That I'm not focused on the case?"

Brennan chose not to answer that, and continued, "And Angela's due date is in about two months. I'm going to be an aunt, Booth. My best friend is having a baby! You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that!"

"Well you should have said –" Booth interjected.

"And you were so wrapped up in Hannah that you didn't even bother to hear about how Russ is coming over in a week or so with his wife and kids. My neice is turning 10, and Russ wants me there. Everything in my life has finally turned normal, and you don't even care. I'm not asking for a lot Booth, I just want you to care about something – anything – else besides Hannah," Brennan finished.

"I didn't know," Booth responded lamely.

"You know what else is crazy?" Brennan asked. She decided it was high time he knew. She had to tell him.

"What?" Booth asked.

"I've discovered through watching you and Hannah together…..that I'm in love with you."

"Brennan, I –" Booth just sat, incredulous at what he'd just heard.

"I know, Booth, I know," Brennan said, "I have to go." Brennan got up, leaving a twenty on the table for the tab, and walked out, not bothering to look at Booth's reaction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Decisions**

"Seeley!" Hannah cried out in joy as he walked through the door. She wrapped her arms around his neck, but when he wouldn't meet her eyes, she knew something was up. "What's wrong?"

"Hannah, sit down." Booth said, in a slow, calm voice. As he and Hannah sat down, he finally met her eyes.

"Seeley, what's going on?" Hannah asked. She wasn't so sure of herself or her boyfriend now.

"Hannah, I've never cheated on any woman I've ever been with," Booth started.

"Oh, God, Booth…" Hannah looked away, knowing that this was the end.

"Bones told me she loved me." Hannah just stared at him. Booth loved Temperance too, it was evident in his eyes, his voice, and the fact that he was breaking up with her.

"Look, Hannah, I love you, you know that," Booth tried to explain.

"But you love her more."

"Yeah, I do. Hannah, I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you, so I'm not going to lie to you." Booth didn't want to hurt her? He was breaking her heart and ripping the broken pieces in thirds.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight," Hannah began trying to keep calm, "Tomorrow I'll find somewhere else. I hope you know the only reason I came here was for you, Seeley."

"I know," Booth said, "But nothing stays the same. Things change."

"Tempe says that," Hannah replied.

"I didn't know I was still in love with her."

"I know, Seeley. Go. It's okay," Hannah told him, even though it wasn't, "go find Temperance. Just don't bring her home."

With a quick hug, Booth left the apartment. Hannah was alone. She rested her head where he had just been sitting, curled her knees up to her chest, and began to cry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Without a Trace**

Brennan knew that as soon as she left the bar she couldn't face Booth or Hannah again. Hannah had become a really good friend, and Booth….It pained her to think about what would happen to their partnership. She wanted to be rational. The only rational option was to get out while she still could. As much as it pained her to do it, she would have to quit. Even if she and Booth were to be together, it would cost Booth his job. And there was no way she would ever be able to face Hannah after tonight. And all her other friends and coworkers, what would they think of her? She had to leave town now. She could get a job as a teacher. She'd changed her name when she was five without a thought in the world, she could change back again, dye her air, and put on some interesting makeup. No one would know where she was or who she was. Somehow, she would make this as painless as possible for all her friends.

"Hello?" Russ asked, picking up on the other line of Brennan's phone.

"Russ, it's me. I need to leave town for a little while, so having the party at my place isn't going to be such a good idea. Could I maybe come up and visit you for the party?" Brennan asked.

"Tempe, hold on. What's going on? You're not in trouble, are you?" Brennan wished she could be excited that her brother was finally, after all these years, ready to look out for her in a heartbeat. But she couldn't be happy. With one sentence, she'd ruined everything she'd ever worked for.

"I'm fine, Russ. I just said something I shouldn't have. I need to leave for a month or so and let it all blow over. I'm calling Cam after this to use my vacation days. I'll be there for the party; I just can't be in D.C. right now." There was no way Brennan could tell Russ what happened. Booth would call him first after her coworkers. She had to keep it vague.

"Yeah, okay, Tempe. Just let me know when you get settled wherever you go. And make sure you get Hayley something to do with horses." With that, Russ ended the phone call.

Brennan sat in her car, typing an email to Cam on her phone. She sent the email, then began to drive.

Brennan pulled up to the motel. She walked through the door, and asked if she could get a room for the night.

"Sure thing, sweetheart," the man said with a thick southern accent, "Can I get a name?"

"It's…it's Joy. Joy…um…Keenan." Brennan said, paying her cash and walking to her room. As she got to room 214, her phone rang. Embarrassed that "Hot Blooded" was now ringing though the halls, she checked it. It was Booth. Brennan closed the door to room 214, and sent the call to voicemail. She turned her phone to vibrate. It vibrated almost immediately.

"Oh, Booth, I don't need this right now!" She groaned, but when she checked the Caller ID, it said Angela. Brennan answered, "Ange, do you know what time it is? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Sweetie, its only 11. And Cam has some of us doing volunteer cleanup work. I was wondering if you wanted to come and hang out with us." Angela said.

"Oh, Ange, I can't. Not tonight. I'm sorry. Didn't Cam get my email?"

"What email? What's wrong?" Angela asked.

"Nothing. Goodnight, Ange. Make sure that you get enough sleep." Brennan hung up the phone. She didn't want to talk to anyone or say anything. She hadn't felt this bad in a long time, since she found out that her mom was dead, or since she watched her dad leave, again, that time with Russ, after he handcuffed her to a bench. She wanted to curl up on that mattress and cry until she died. Actually, that wasn't possible. She wanted to cry until all the liquid possible had drained from her tear ducts and her eyes burned. Mostly, she wanted to disappear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: In the Land of Women**

After calling three times and knocking on her door, Booth gave up trying to talk to Brennan. He'd have to talk to her in the lab tomorrow. Right now he was tired. He got in his car and drove back to his apartment, where he found Hannah curled up on the couch, tear stains on her face. He instantly felt pangs of guilt. He loved both these women, but he was hurting them. Hannah had dropped everything to move to D.C. Brennan had gone out of her way to hide her feelings. Both these women sacrificed a lot for him, and he was letting them both down. At any rate, as the gentleman he was, he picked up Hannah and carried her into the bedroom, where he tucked her into bed. He grabbed a spare pillow and blanket and headed for the couch, where he slept the rest of the night.

"Hey, Angela, is Bones here?" Booth asked the next day. When he woke up, eggs were warm, sitting on the table, and Hannah was gone. He didn't worry about it much; he figured he still had her cell phone number, he could see how she was doing.

"Oh, Booth, I didn't see you come in," Angela started, "um, Brennan's on vacation. She'll be back in a couple weeks."

"Weeks? Well, where'd she go?" Booth was surprised. He hadn't expected this. He was so sure she'd be sitting in her office and they could have a nice talk. He didn't realize that both the women in his life would leave him in one night.

"I don't know. She was pretty vague when I called her."

"Wait, she actually answered when you called?" Booth didn't understand.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I called her, and she wouldn't answer."

"Then she doesn't want to talk to you, I guess." Angela said, cautiously, "Did she say something to you last night, something she knew she shouldn't have?"

"Why, what'd she tell you?" Booth returned the cautiousness.

"Nothing, that's the problem. She emailed Cam, and that's the most information anyone got. She said she had to wait for a conversation to blow over, and in order to do that, she had to leave D.C. for a few weeks. Daisy, Clark, Wendell, and Vincent are working around the clock, all together, in order to make up the lost work. If you know something that can tell us why she left, you have to tell me. What if she's gone for a couple weeks and I have the baby early? What if she's not there?" Angela was yelling now, near hysterical. Booth wondered if this was the pregnancy hormones.

"Brennan…." Booth began.

"What, Booth?"

"Last night she told me she loved me."

"Oh." Angela replied, with a small voice, "Oh, Booth…"

"So I broke it off with Hannah, who left before I woke up."

"Oh, wow-"

"But now Brennan's AWOL, so what am I supposed to do?"

"You're asking me for advice? Or was that a rhetorical question?" Angela asked.

"I'm asking you for advice." Booth responded.

"Well, then, let Brennan deal alone. Let me get you an invite to Hayley's birthday party, and then talk to her there."

"How would you do that?" Booth asked.

"Russ knows who I am, and, to be honest, he likes me better than you. He'll let you come if his sister's best friend asks in the name of love." Angela smiled mischievously as she said this. You could tell by the light in her eyes that this was the most fun she'd had in a while.

"Okay then. Could you?" Booth asked.

"One question though, Booth." Angela added.

"What?" Booth was now hesitant.

"You do love Brennan back, right?" Booth relaxed a bit as Angela asked this.

"Yeah, Angela, I do." Glad to have that off of his chest, he walked into Brennan's office. He sat on the couch, and waited for Angela to tell him his next move. There wasn't a case today, so at least he could focus. He could focus on finding the one woman who he cared about more than anything else in the entire world. Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Where is My Head?**

Brennan woke up the next morning with a headache. Crap. She _had_ been drunk. On top of everything that happened last night, she was hung-over in an unfamiliar motel a few miles from Baltimore. She had no idea what she was going to do now. What could she do? She figured it would take around three weeks for Hannah and Booth to work out what happened – she knew Booth would tell Hannah, and that Hannah would be upset. She knew she had enough money to get by without a job for a month – she'd done it before, when she helped identify Katrina victims five years ago. Had it really been that long? Booth had been there for her then, to help her prove herself innocent in a murder. What would she do now that she didn't have him? She'd spent seven months without him, with only Daisy as a familiar face. That was hell. Her head swirled as the headache worsened, and she realized that she needed coffee and a greasy breakfast sandwich before she could figure out how she would spend her vacation.

There was a McDonald's down the street. Brennan had passed it on her way to this motel. She as she went out to her car, a familiar voice called her name. Not Joy, but her real name.

"Temperance?" Brennan turned to see Hannah Burley staring at her with a confused expression on her face. "Why are you here?" She continued, "I thought you would be with Booth."

"I would ask you the same thing, although since you asked the question first, my question seems unnecessary." Brennan had assumed that Hannah and Booth would be distant mentally, but not physically.

"We broke up." Hannah said, her voice turning to ice, "You told him you loved him, and he loves you too. Wait – why am I explaining myself? I asked the question first."

"I'm on vacation." Brennan answered lamely.

"I don't believe you," Hannah replied, "He's here, isn't he? You didn't want to risk Parker coming in and seeing you two together so you checked into a sleazy motel together so you could hook up. Isn't that right?"

"No. I-"

"Mornin' Joy," the motel receptionist called as he walked to his desk to begin his shift.

"Joy?" Hannah asked.

"It's my birth name. I didn't want anyone to find me before you and Booth work out your problems."

"What? You told him you loved him because you hoped to steal him from me." Brennan could tell that Hannah doubted her words as she said them.

"I was drunk! I never meant for any of that to happen! That's why I took my vacation days and am staying here! I didn't want you and Booth to break up!" Brennan gushed. She really didn't want any of this to have happened.

"The problem is, Booth loves you too." Hannah said, forgivingly.

"He only thinks he does. That sort of thing…he was confused by the moment, that's all. I know he loves you. When we're together, you're all he talks about, aside from the case we're working on. You and Parker."

"He broke up with _me_, Temperance. He said that he'd never cheated on anyone, and he wasn't about to start now. He loves you and he wants to be with you.

"That's not true." Brennan responded defensively. She didn't want it to be true. She didn't want to be responsible for Booth losing his job or Hannah having her heart broken.

"Yeah, it is. I'm sure he's trying to find you as we speak."

"In that case, he might end up coming to Hayley's party."

"Hayley?"

"My step-neice. She's turning ten. I'll call Russ and ask if I can bring a friend. There are going to be plenty of adults at this party. Amy, his wife, decided that while the kids were all watch _Hannah Montana: The Movie_, we could all have drinks and such, because Amy really didn't want to watch it with them. Anyway, you come with me and I'll get Booth to admit that he loves you more." Brennan suggested.

"I don't know Temperance…" Hannah replied.

"Trust me." Brennan encouraged.

"Fine. I'll go. But when Seeley says that he loves you more…"

"It's not going to happen."

"I'll go, okay!"

"Okay." Brennan replied. The only problem was she didn't know what she wanted Booth to tell them. She loved Booth, and she wanted him to love her back, but it would cost his job and the friendship with Hannah. And she wanted to stay friends with Hannah, but it would cost her Booth. She was still processing this as she and Hannah drove to McDonald's for breakfast sandwiches.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys! So, if you haven't notice, I haven't updated this story in a while. I'm sorry for that, but, in protest for what happened in "The Doctor in the Photo," I'm discontinuing my story, as the basis of the story has already happened in the show, and quite differently than I imagined it.


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